Titans East Special #1 (January, 2008)
"The Fickle Hand, Part One: Go East, Young Man."
Writer - Judd Winick
Pencils - Ian Churchill
Inks - Norm Rapmund, Andy Lanning & Jon Sibal
Colors - Edgar Delgado
Letters - Comicraft
Assistant Editor - Adam Schlagman
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.99
The late 2000's. It was the best of times... oh, who am I even trying to kid... it was the worst of times (to be a Titans fan).
Anyone who might be following my reviews of the contemporary (post-Rebirth) Teen Titans (vol.6) over at Weird Science DC Comics knows that up until a few months ago, I was very hard on the direction (or lack thereof) of the book. It was the same thing every month, high on angst with the looming threat that somebody was going to quit the team at any time. Rarely an issue would go by without someone quitting, threatening to quit, get kicked off, or threatened to be kicked off. It was an awful run.
But then... if you're a tenured Titans fan... your mind might take you back to the post-Geoff Johns/pre-J.T. Krul era... and I realize, "Hey! It could always be worse!".
--
We open back in the long ago during a Jenni! concert that has been hijacked by... the Joker! (I did check around to see if Jenni! was a reference to some obscure Golden/Silver-Age character, but she doesn't appear to be). In fact, it's not only the Joker... but Bizarro too! Man, I love me a Joker/Bizarro team-up... what a classic, right? Right??? Okay, in fairness, I'm sure they'd probably rubbed shoulders a time or two before this... I mean, World's Finest Comics was a thing for a very long time. Anyhoo, the Teen Titans are there to (try and) save the day! This looks like it would've taken place early in the New Teen Titans era, as Wally is a) still a member, and b) still Kid Flash.
Over the next several pages, the Titans look for an opening to attack the Joker (who is revealed to be handcuffed to the lovely and talented Jenni!), all the while Bizarro plays the heavy. Beast Boy transforms into a bee, and stings Joker on the cheek, which provides Robin the opportunity to use a 'rang to shatter the cuffs. Beast Boy then turns into an ape and rescues the girl.
Wally rushes the Joker and swipes his gun... only to find out that it's actually a ticking bomb inside a gun's housing! He runs it out into the bay where it explodes... 3 seconds early. The kinda thing that would add real drama in any story that isn't clearly a flashback!
As the Joker gloats over "killing" Kid Flash, he is suddenly overcome by emotion... yup, Raven's in the house. While gettin' high on the Joker's supply, she goes a little nutty herself (but thankfully doesn't give us like a half-dozen pages of her acting like the Joker).
Back with Bizarro, Starfire realizes that since Superman is powered by yellow sunlight, Bizarro might actually be de-powered by the same. Lucky for her, she appears to be right!
Just then, Wally returns (from dead) with a box under his arm. While he was gone, he swung by... I dunno, S.T.A.R. Labs or something, and picked up a chunk of Blue Kryptonite (which is actually steeped in Bizarro history)! This puts Bizarro down for good... for now.
Robin socks the Joker, and the Titans stand together atop the heap of baddies.
Then... we jump ahead to "now". Cyborg is trying to assemble a second team of Titans. This is post-Infinite Crisis, so the San Francisco-based (Cassie-Wonder Girl-led) iteration ain't doin' all that hot at the moment. Vic asks his usual running-buddies, but they just ain't feelin' it. Donna is off doing some Countdown-related stuff with Kyle Rayner, Beast Boy is hanging out with the All-New All-Old Doom Patrol, Roy is part of the Justice League of America... hell, even Lilith turns him down, and I'm sure she ain't doin' anything!
Finally, Vic reaches out to Dick Grayson... who also ain't feelin' it. Ya see, Cyborg has drafted some "newbies" and he wants the vets on board to help whip 'em into shape (yes, again). Nightwing says they were a great team once, and they may be a great team again... but now might not be the right time. They get nostalgic for a moment, before Dick asks Vic about these "newbies"...
And so, let's meet a few. First stop, Dawn and Holly Granger, the all-new Hawk & Dove! It seemed like they really wanted to play-up Holly (Hawk)'s sex appeal, and so naturally, we catch her in the shower. She tells Dawn about "some guy" she picked up the night before. More on that in a bit...
... or, right now. Next, we meet... Power Boy (complete with booby-window!). He talks about how last night he "got some" with a freaky girl who didn't mind wearing a Supergirl costume while they "did it"!
He goes for a swim before heading over to the first meeting of Teen Titans East. His teammates include, Little Barda, Anima (a Bloodlines buddy), (semi-obscure Charlton character) Son of Vulcan, Lagoon Boy, and, of course... Hawk & Dove.
Cyborg informs them that for this first training session, Power Boy is going to be something of a tackling dummy. The rest of the team are to track him down, and defeat him in combat... which is the case for the next dozen or so pages! During those pages, he exchanges banter with each teammate, and even learns that the freaky girl he was with the night before is now a member of his team! Each member of Titans East gets to sorta-kinda "show their stuff" during the brouhaha... which, sadly, isn't saying much.
The team eventually loses sight of Power Boy, and heads into the nearby woods to investigate... and what they find is, rather grim. A badly-burned Power Boy has been impaled on a tree branch!
Vic rushes in to see what's up, and suddenly beams of energy start raining down on the heroes... one of which goes right through poor Anima!
When Cyborg makes it to the clearing... the beams get a bit bigger... and by "a bit" I mean, a whole lot. A tremendous beam bears down, smashing into the team, and leaving a crater in its wake. To be continued...
--
Okay, before we begin. I gotta say that being a decade-plus removed from this one, I didn't hate it as much as I did when I first read it. I didn't like it... but, I'm not as mad at it as I was back in the Winter of 2007. If you weren't reading the Titans back in the "nebulous interim" that was post-Infinite Crisis/pre-Final Crisis, you wouldn't know just how many team members were "sacrificed". This was the era of the Teen Titans "casket cover"... lotsa teen-age heroes were being thrown on the fire... and the fatigue was real!
Look at this cover... "Who Will Die?" That's your selling point? What is this, Heroes in Crisis?! I'm sorry, you're going to need more than that. Buying a book only to find out who dies? Really, if that's all you're interested in... just hang out on social media a week before the book comes out, some "pro" reviewer will undoubtedly spoil it. If that's all you're looking for... there's no reason to shell out four-bucks for this.
Let's put this book aside for a moment... and say, you missed out on it. Didn't even know it was a "thing". One day you head into the local comic shop, and see a bright-shiny Titans (vol.2) #1 sitting there on the shelf. You pick it up and take it home. Upon opening it, you're greeted with "The Fickle Hand, Part TWO". Part Two... in a #1 issue! What a mess.
Now, let's look at the issue itself. It's kinda empty. It's basically two big fight scenes separated by a couple of pages of exposition. Not sure why we needed the "This was Then..." bits, other than the desire to shoehorn the Joker into the issue. That's fair enough... not sure why it necessitated so many damned pages though.
Speaking of an embarrassment of pages... that training exercise probably didn't need twelve of 'em! I get that we want to try and flesh these newbies out... let 'em "show their stuff" before the big "gotcha". But, that only works if you don't spoil the fact that someone's going to die on the cover! We never get the opportunity to lose ourselves in the story... we're just looking for someone to die. We're anticipating the "gotcha" moment, so that when it finally happens... it doesn't really have the desired effect!
The expositional middle... was okay. It feels like the Titans are always in "rebuilding mode"... nobody can just tell a story about them coming together... there has to be some cockamamie reason behind it all. The past several times has been about "training the next bunch"... which... I mean, there's already a Teen Titans team... and before that, there was Young Justice. This is redundant... and I totally understand the "originals" wanting to be as far away from it as possible. This whole thing feels like a "here we go again" rather than... "Hell yeah, new Titans!"... which isn't the best way to launch a new series.
I suppose we could go into Power Boy and Hawk's cosplay sex... but, I mean, what can I say? It's pandering, crass, and ultimately unnecessary, but it's pretty much exactly what I'd expect from DC and Judd Winick at that point in time. Was this to give us a feeling of "loss"? It wasn't depicted as romantic in the slightest... and it's not like nu-Hawk has all that much time left among the living either. I dunno... the whole thing was just really off-putting.
Overall... I really don't know what to say. Back in 2007-2008 I'd give this a hard-pass, and suggest everyone else would too. Now? I still don't need this in my life, but that doesn't mean other folks won't dig it. The era of Titans-death-fatigue is in the distant rear-view at this point... and so, this might actually feel novel rather than just another few bodies being haphazardly thrown on the fire. It is worth noting, the art here is good. I had some problems with early Ian Churchill... he was very much in the Rob Liefeld-alikes list. You can still see some of the influence here, but it's softened quite a bit. This issue is available digitally if you're interested... but I would suggest holding off until you find it in the cheap-o bins instead.
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The Family Dynamic #1 (October, 2008)
"Into the Light of the Dark of Night"
Writer - J. Torres
Penciller - Tim Levins
Inks - Dan Davis
Colors - Dave McCaig
Letters - Sal Cipriano
Editor - Adam Schlagman
Cover Price: $2.25
And now for something completely different!
Today's offering comes from that time in my life where I had lost my job... and just about everything else. Comics weren't foremost on my mind, and so... I missed out on a bunch. It's usually books that came from this era that "surprise me" the most when I flip past 'em in the cheap-o bins.
It's like I have this weird "blind spot" in my comics collecting "career". There's no context... there's no connective tissue... it's just a weird book, that even to this day, I wasn't aware even existed!
Today we'll be checking out an All-Ages title and meet The Fantas-- er, Family Dynamic.
--
We open at a Storm City Convenience Store where a trio of teen-agers are chatting about some recent events. A cover of the most recent issue of News Time Magazine sparks a conversation about a recent alien threat, and how the superhero team The Family Dynamic led the charge against them. They then begin to argue about whether or not heroes without superpowers (such as Blackbird and Little Wing) can actually be considered superheroes. It's all a bit much, really.
Because, of course... these teen-agers are actually some of the heroes being discussed. One of whom (Makenzie) doesn't have powers. They race back home, for today is Thanksgiving Day... and upon arrival they find themselves walking into quite the scene!
But before we get to that, we're going to have to jump back one month in time. Actually, we're not going to be getting to the Thanksgiving Dinner scene at all this issue. So, one month ago... there was a terrible forest fire... and The Family Dynamic were able to save the day. Let's meet this foursome, one at a time...
First, there's Pyralis... the leader of The Family Dynamic, who controls the element of Fire. Easy peasy, right? Battling an inferno should be a day off for him.
Then, there's Sirocco, who controls the element of Air. She whips up a cyclone to draw all of the oxygen out of the fire... putting it out faster than any fire fighter could ever hope to.
Next, we meet Troylus, a youngster who controls the element of Water. He directs a tidal wave over some burning buildings to halt the blaze.
Finally, the youngest member of The Family Dynamic... and the one with the easiest to remember name... Terran! He controls, duh, Earth. He carries civilians to safety... however, he has help from another superhero, the Superman-analogue called Defender.
News reports are positively giddy at the prospect that The Family Dynamic and Defender might be working together moving forward. It's almost as though the forest fire takes a back seat to this "news".
Which brings us to a few days later... where the heroes decide to meet up in their civvies. Defender is actually, Dwayne Day... who, I believe is supposed to be a... get this, mild-mannered reporter. He visits with Sloan (Pyralis) for an interview. It's here that we learn that The Family Dynamic is actually a group of Legacy Heroes... as in, they ain't the first with that moniker. Indeed, the originals included Sloan's father (then known as Captain Cyclone)... and he's actually the fella Dwayne's looking to interview.
Oh, we also learn that The Family Dynamic is actually a family. It's Sloan, his wife, and their two sons. Of the original team, Captain Cyclone is the only one still alive... the others had been killed in battle by the Dark Wraith. It's only because of Sloan and his family that Captain Cyclone is still among the living.
Members of The Family Dynamic each wear a ring which allows them to control an element. Dwayne asks Sloan why he chose the Fire Ring, when his father had fought crime using the Air Ring. Sloan replies that it's the only one that "fit"... so, it's kind of like the ring chose him.
They take the interview out of the basement HQ, and back into the living room. They begin discussing "other" heroes... those without super-powers, ya know... like Blackbird and Little Wing (they're really pushing these two!). Sloan dismisses them as "vigilantes" because they don't follow the "Superhero Code", whatever that is. Just then, Sloan's sister Maeve busts in... and she's ticked off that nobody is answering her phone calls. I mean, I've known Maeve for about two seconds at this point, and even I can see why they wouldn't!
Anyhoo, she wants to know what The Family Dynamic is doing getting all chummy with Defender... and she rants about this right in front of her brother's house guest. She's also there to talk with Sloan's kids to get the "teen perspective" on some music. We learn here that Maeve actually has a teen-age daughter (hmm...). Maeve then leaves, but insists on giving Dwayne a ride home.
The next day, Sloan and the kids return home from work and school, respectively. It's not long after getting home that the TV news turns to a report that Tragedy Ann and Tom Foolery are causing some trouble downtown. Heyyy, aren't they from Doomsday Clock?!
Anyhoo, the Family Dynamic... ugh... "Get their Element On". I hate myself for typing that.
Downtown, Tragedy Ann and Tom Foolery are delivering some threats. First they take responsibility for that forest fire from earlier, claiming that it was only a "dress rehearsal" for what's to come.
But then... The Family Dynamic arrives on the scene... looking more like superheroes... and less like frumpy suburbanites in spandex.
Tragedy Ann threatens to crash a blimp into the city in a reenactment of the Hindenburg Disaster... however, says she might just reconsider if Blackbird (her again?) turns herself over to them.
The Family Dynamic won't stand for these threats, however... and leap into action. Errr... well, they begin to, anyway. They wind up tangled in a net... not courtesy of Tragedy Ann, though! Now Enter: Blackbird and Little Wing!
--
Well... first things first... love the art, love the character designs. You could almost see these characters popping up in a Pixar-type movie... which, I suppose, considering when this way made, might've been the point?
The story we get here is... really nothing special. It's just another "take" on a superhero universe, using obvious analogues to comic book archetypes to flesh out their world. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but, I dunno... maybe I'm a little too familiar with these archetypes to truly appreciate the novelty anymore?
It's easy to draw comparisons between The Family Dynamic and the Fantastic Four... heck, they even have similar powers! Defender is an obvious Superman analogue (even down to his civilian occupation!)... and Blackbird and Little Wing are another take on Batman and Robin. By the way, we all understand that they're really Maeve and Makenzie, right?
While I found the, I dunno, "gimmick" of this book to be just kinda "there", that's not to say I didn't have some fun with it... because I did. Like I said, the art was a definite treat... and I also appreciate the amount of world-building Torres engaged in. I mean, we learn things about the previous generation of The Family Dynamic! You know I'm a sucker for that sort of thing, so I definitely dug it here!
Tragedy Ann and Tom Foolery were a lot of fun. I'm always going to sign off on punny names... and it didn't hurt that they just look so cool! Again, can't say enough about how much I adore the art and character designs here... they're really great!
Plus, I can't wait for the reveal that this is actually taking place in the Watchmen Universe...
... okay, probably not.
Overall, despite not finding anything "new" here... I still had a decent enough time with this one. I'm not sure I'll rush out to track down the rest of this series anytime soon... but, lemme tell ya, if you come across this one in a cheap-o bin... odds are, you'll find something to like! Doesn't look like this has been made available digitally... which really, isn't much of a surprise.
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Brave and the Bold (vol.3) #16 (October, 2008)
"Tempted"
Writer - Mark Waid
Artist - Scott Kolins
Colorist - Rob Schwager
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Cover Price: $2.99
Living up to our "random review" mission statement today... just reached into my still-stuffed "to be filed" box, and plucked out... this very issue.
--
We open in Gotham City, where the Bat-Signal is illuminating the night sky. Commissioner Gordon is surprised to find that it isn't Batman responding to the call tonight... instead, it's Superman! Gordon fills him in on some goings-down concerning an Underworld Auction in Gotham, however, before he can finish his thought, Superman hears an alarm ping off in the distance. He excuses himself and sees to it. Gordon is taken aback by Superman's politeness... and considers whether or not a transfer to Metropolis might do him good.
Superman speeds across the city, to find... duh, Catwoman breaking into a vault. A vault, which houses a large golden egg.
Superman winds up triggering the vault-sensors, which gives him quite a jolt... not that it really affects him all that much, but it does give a split-second's distraction... long enough for Catwoman to (think she'll) get away. Catwoman makes a run for it, while sharing a somewhat pervy monologue on what she might do with the Man of Steel.
He tells her to 'splain... and so, she does. Ya see, she was only trying to steal that "Horse Egg" because she needed it in order to get herself into the Underworld Auction... it apparently takes a million bucks (in cash or "goods") to get inside... and tonight's top item is one she cannot miss. Turns out they're auctioning off a map... to some hidden cave right outside Gotham! Ruh-roh.
Upon hearing this, Superman rushes off to Atlantis... where he plucks a necklace off of a statue, which he values at well over a million dollars. This oughta get 'em in!
Buuuut, they certainly can't go in looking like Superman and Catwoman... and so, we get a "dressing down" montage. It's cute, but completely predictable... Superman is dressed down to look, ya know, exactly like Clark Kent. Selina doesn't notice... which, stands to reason... not sure how familiar she's supposed to be with a mild-mannered reporter from Metropolis... but, you'd figure somebody in Gotham might recognize him, right?
The pair make their way into the auction, and are seated just as item fourteen is put up for bids. It's a joker playing card coated in jen-you-wine Joker venom. How 'bout that? The single card goes for ten-grand. Just imagine if it were CGC slabbed!
Finally, the map is put up for bid... however, it's right about now that the Atlantean necklace starts to crumble... ya see, the atmosphere topside ain't exactly ideal for its suppleness... suppledy... suppleocity, you know what I mean.
As Clark worries about the necklace, the auctioneer describes the item up for bids. This map is to... not the Batcave, but to Clayface's hidden grotto!
Just then, the necklace goes to pieces... or dust, if you prefer. The auction-goons surround Clark and proceed to pound on him with baseball bats... which, goes about as well as you might imagine. Once the "S" is spotted, the place clears out... including Selina Kyle.
Superman rushes the stage to try and get some info out of the auctioneer... but he ain't spillin'. Also, he knows Superman won't really hurt him, so he doesn't have all that much to lose anyway... just jail time, and I suppose that comes with the gig. Superman tries to "Bat-up" his dialogue... but, well... you know.
Nearby he hears a woman shouting into her cell phone. This woman knows that Catwoman has stolen the map, and it headed to the grotto in order to get herself some Clayfacey powers. Superman is able to (somehow) track the phone call from cell tower to cell tower, and discover who she is speaking with. That's a pretty interesting use of super-hearing... not one I recall seeing before (or perhaps, since).
We shift scenes over to the grotto, and sure 'nuff... Catwoman is being attacked by a trio of Clayfaces. Superman shows up and takes the wind out of their sails... and lungs!
Then, it's lecture time! Superman feels as though Catwoman used him in order to get her hands on the Clayface-pool-water. She's all, "nuh-uh"... and explains that she just wanted to find the place in order to destroy it. Three seconds later... t'ings go boom.
We rejoin our heroes atop a building in Gotham City. Catwoman gives Superman a peck on the cheek, and suggests maybe they hang out again real soon... perhaps even in Metropolis... and, ya know what... maybe she'll bring a friend. Superman's eyes widen... and he suggests she just leave.
As a parting shot, we see that Catwoman does have a sample of the grotto water... but, unfortunately for her, Superman sees it too.
--
Well, this was a lot of fun, wasn't it?
It isn't all that often we get to see a Superman/Catwoman team-up. There's probably plenty of good reasons for that, but I'm glad they had the chance to work together here.
As a "one-off", I mean... this was a blast. It sorta teeters on "silly" without falling over the edge... and is lighthearted enough as to not feel draining. It's Superman sorta as a fish-outta-water, working in his buddy's city... alongside one of his buddy's "associates".
I remember when I was growing up, for whatever reason I thought it might be cool to have Batman and Superman swap titles... like, give Batman six-months on Action Comics, and have Superman in Detective Comics. It might also be fun to have them swap cities for a month or two... looks like, at the very least... Jim Gordon might certainly appreciate the change!
The bait-and-switch on the "cave outside Gotham" was handled incredibly well. I never read this one before now, and didn't see the twist coming. I truly expected it to be that someone discovered the Batcave... and Selina was going to wind up considering use of lethal force in order to contrast "Gotham" methods with Superman's.
I think my only real "ehh" moment here is, having Superman change clothes... and look exactly like Clark Kent. I know it's supposed to be a "funny, ha-ha" for us... but, ehhhhh... even though I'm "in on" the joke, it just comes across as a little too "cute".
Overall... throw this in any random stack of comics, and chances are... this'll be the most fun one there. Scott Kolins' art is really fantastic, and he delivers some great facial expressions to depict Superman's reactions toward his temporary teammate. Definitely worth a look. For your convenience, this bugger is available digitally.
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